Cheney remains potent, powerful

Supporting from behind rather than standing out in front is one skill President Bush's running mate is said to practice with great finesse.

"I worked with (Vice President Dick Cheney) when he was chief of staff and secretary of defense and know the extreme capability he has in providing high quality advice," said Roger Porter, a professor of business and government at Harvard University.

Cheney's solid influence has been visible during the past four years in the Bush White House. He has built a reputation of being one of the most active vice presidents in recent history.

Some pundits even say that Cheney, at times, has had more control of the White House from behind the scenes than Bush has demonstrated from the front lines.

"He has been given a broad range of responsibilities across the board and is intimately involved in implementing policies facing the executive branch," said Joel Goldstein, a professor of law at St. Louis University Law School. "Bush clearly relies on him."

During his years with the Bush administration, the things that have defined Cheney are his leadership of an administration energy task force and his efforts in making the case for war in Iraq, pundits say.

Goldstein said Cheney was the last person in the Bush administration to abandon claims of a link between Saddam Hussein and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "The Iraq war bears his fingerprints," Goldstein said.

After attending Yale for six semesters, Cheney dropped out and returned to his home state to attend the University of Wyoming, where he received a master's degree in political science.

In 1964, he joined Richard Nixon's administration and in 1975 was appointed chief of staff in President Gerald Ford's White House.

From 1978 to 1989, Cheney dabbled as a Wyoming congressman. He gained familiarity with the Bush family by becoming a vocal supporter of the Gulf War during George H.W. Bush's presidency.

President George W. Bush chose Cheney to be his running mate in 2000 partly because the former Wyoming senator brought substantial experience to the White House.

"He has a wide variety of experience as a White House staff, secretary of defense and being a part of the national government in almost any way the past 30 years," said Jim King, a professor of political science at the University of Wyoming. "This is clearly an asset he brings as a leader and candidate."

Pundits say Bush and Cheney are a team - their strengths and weaknesses balancing each other out. Cheney's personality especially influences his interaction with Bush.

"Cheney's personality is very much down to business, not dour, on task, get this done and move on," King said.

But Porter said Cheney is not all business: "He has great wit."

The vice president let his humor shine through during a dinner Porter attended at Cheney's home.

Porter recalled Cheney joking that the best thing about being vice president was working in the only position he's had that wasn't previously held by Donald Rumsfeld, who also was present at the party.

"(Cheney) was very fun to be around," Porter said.

And others say Cheney definitely is not all business when it comes to his family. His wife, Lynne Cheney, is a key element in his support system. But he added that "she has been a prominent and outspoken figure in her own right in Republican and conservative circles."

The couple married in 1964 and now has two adult daughters, Elizabeth and Mary.

Mary Cheney has been in the spotlight lately, following a comment about her homosexuality made by Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry during the third presidential debate.

And she might play a part in the debate about one of the few issues on which Bush and his vice president disagree: gay marriage. Dick Cheney says the issue should be left to states. "It is possible that this is a way in which her own experience has affected his views," Goldstein said.

Another prominent personal issue for Cheney has been his history of heart attacks - he already has experienced four, the first of which when he was 37. "I think the effect of it is it makes it unlikely he will ever run for president," Goldstein said. "But I haven't seen any evidence of him not being physically up to the job as vice president."

He added that the administration runs more smoothly because Bush doesn't have to worry about Cheney's ulterior motives for political ascension.

"His only interest is in doing the best job he can with the president now and not angling for something later," Porter said.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.